1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to a system which modifies a pickup truck cab section to allow the hard top to fold into the truck bed and double as a rearwardly facing jump seat. Once the hard top is folded down, passengers may be secured in the jump seat using a safety bar which is swingably attached to the side of the truck bed.
The invention can be utilized on a variety of pickup truck designs. The method of construction and utilization of the invention is more fully described herein.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Various prior art convertible truck/auto bodies and the like, as well as their apparatuses and methods of construction in general, are known and found to be exemplary of the U.S. prior art. They are:
______________________________________ U.S. Pat. No. Inventor ______________________________________ 1,047,016 H. H. Elwood 1,410,139 J. Tavelli 1,766,015 W. Dupre 4,139,232 D. B. Cerf 4,238,876 Monroe et al 4,335,916 D. R. Gutgsell 4,480,868 Masaaki Koto 4,595,230 B. A. Russell et al 4,623,187 Aftab Ibrahim ______________________________________
U.S. Pat. No. 1,766,015, issued to Dupre, discloses a convertible automobile body providing a rear area which folds into a seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,238,876, issued to Monroe et al, discloses a method for converting a vehicle manufactured with a hard top to a vehicle having a removable top. Also disclosed are sealing and mounting devices for securing and sealing the top to the vehicle body.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,480,868, issued to Kato, discloses a motor truck body comprising a truck bed and a cabin whereby the cabin has an upper and lower panel in its rear wall. The upper panel opens to an upright position and the lower panel is provided with a seat cushion which opens and engages the floor panel segment of the truck bed to form an auxiliary seat. However, no means are incorporated in the Koto patent to convert the top of the cabin into a seat.
U.S. Pat. No. 4,623,187, issued to Ibrahim, discloses a pickup truck insert for fitting into the bed of a pickup truck. The insert includes a forward and rearward sitting area.
These patents or known prior uses teach and disclose various types of rumble seats and combined attachments of various manufactures and the like, as well as their methods of construction. However, none of them, whether taken singly or in combination, disclose the specific details of the combination of the invention in such a way as to bear upon the claims of the present invention.